32 Arrested In Zellwood Cocaine, Pot Sting

Orange County deputy sheriffs posing as drug dealers arrested 32 people within three hours Friday in Zellwood on charges of possession of crack cocaine or marijuana.

Of those arrested, 26 were charged with marijuana possession, said Orange County sheriff's spokesman Randy Means.

''The importance of the marijuana bust is that it shows there is still a very lucrative market for marijuana,'' Means said.

''Marijuana is still very prevalent and is still in demand and is a threat to the community just as crack cocaine is,'' he said.

He said 20 officers from the sheriff's Drug Enforcement Division and SWAT team made the arrests on Willow Street, a major drug dealing center. Many of those arrested live in Lake County, he said.

Undercover agents stood in the street and waited for customers to drive up and ask for cocaine or marijuana, Means said.

The SWAT team was stationed nearby and moved in to make arrests after drugs were sold and handed over to customers.

Means said the buyers were charged with possession of cocaine and possession of cannabis. They were booked into the Orange County Jail. A car also was seized.

It was the second major drug bust on Willow Street in two months. In September, deputies arrested 30 people on charges of possessing cocaine after undercover agents posing as dealers sold crack cocaine to customers.

Deputies turned away another 150 people who were looking for marijuana during that bust.

Means said deputies in Friday's operation anticipated the demand for marijuana by bringing the drug with them for sale.

He said Friday's bust also was significant because the amount of crack cocaine wanted was much less than last time.